10 facts about manatees
Posted: June 5, 2010 Filed under: Marine Mammals | Tags: Amazonian Manatee, Manatee, Marine mammal, Sirenia, West Indian Manatee 5 Comments »- Manatees are marine mammals and breath air through their nostrils.
- Manatees belong to an order of marine mammals called the Sirenians. Dugongs are the other member of this family. Stellar sea cows were also a member of this family, but, they were hunted to extinction within 27 years of their discovery.
- Manatees can weigh up to 2,000 pounds.
- Manatees closest modern relative is the elephant. Evidence of this relationship is easy to spot – both animals have three to four fingernails.
- Manatees are typically pretty slow, but, can swim up to 20 mph.
- There are four species of manatees: the West Indian Manatee, the Florida Manatee (technically a subspecies of the West Indian species), the Amazonian Manatee and the West African Manatee.
- Manatees are credited for being the basis for the mermaid legend.
- Manatees are herbivores.
- Manatees can live up to 60 years old.
- Manatees have no natural predators, but, they are peril. Find out more about their plight at Save the Manatees.
Image (c) rickoshea.files.wordpress.com
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these r my fav animals i mean who doesnt think these things are adorable after seeing
these pics think before you do bad things to the waters
These animals are going exinct. I love these animals and they are super adorable and people destroy their homes by littering in the waters. I maybe adopting a manatee and I joined the save the manatee club. Please save the manatees!!
Thank you for your comment!
“The more you know about a species, the more you understand about how better to help protect them.” Alan Clark
kill polluters, man
that’s a little extream. just try to get people to pollute less.